The New York Law Blog reported on the recent case of Speranza v Repro Lab Inc., which was decided by the Appellate Division, First Department, on March 3rd. In this case, a man, Mark Speranza, deposited several semen samples with Repro Lab in advance of a medical treatment that he had reason to suspect might affect his ability to have children. … [Read more...]
Leaving 5-8 Billion to Take Care of Dogs? Not So Fast…
Eric Penzer, at the New York Trusts & Estates Litigation Blog, posted the newsthat the New York County Surrogate ruled last week that Leona Helmsley's 5-8 billion dollar Charitable Trust need not limit its beneficience to dogs. Ms. Helmsley had already tried to leave 12 million dollars, from her Will, to a trust for her dog's benefit. But … [Read more...]
Elliot Schlissel Interview on NPR Re Brooke Astor
The Brooke Astor Estate is in the news again. Gerry W. Beyer, of the Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog, reported that this coming Monday, March 2, the trial against Mrs. Astor's son Tony, will begin. It is alleged that while Tony Marshall was guardian for his mother, he swindled millions of dollars from Mrs. Astor, who was suffering from … [Read more...]
Can Simultaneous, Multiple Wives All Receive Spousal Health Benefits in NY?
As a law clerk in a law office that does a tremendous amount of Wills Trusts and Estates work, I found this story pretty interesting. Professor Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy reported on a New York County Surrogate's Court case, which granted "surviving spouse" status to a "husband" whose same-sex marriage was performed in Canada. In the case of … [Read more...]
Putting a “Religion Clause” in Your Will or Trust
The Illinois State Supreme Court will soon consider the case of In re Estate of Max Feinberg. With thanks to John T. Brooks from T&E.com, I found this interesting case. Max and Erla Feinberg created a trust with their substantial assets to care for their children and grandchildren. They placed a provision in the trust that if any of their five … [Read more...]
